The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided in this application is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Recent and ongoing efforts to measure and evaluate physical performance include the DARPA Warrior Web (WW) and the NSRDEC Personal Augmentation programs. A critical aspect of these and other related efforts is the need for real-time physiological and kinesthetic data on the individual soldier. For instance, the data would be critical for feedback to injury mitigation and performance augmentation devices and for continuous assessment of a person's health and abilities. Also, a detailed database of such information on a large number of people would help tailor devices for each individual, help training, minimize injuries as well as guide future technology development and implementation.
But these solutions fail to create a non-invasive, ultra-lightweight (i.e., barely perceptible to the wearer), low power, minimally wired robust system that provides real-time and stored lower limb kinematics (joint angles and rates) data, with sufficient accuracy and redundancy for a variety of applications.
All publications identified in this application are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided in this application, the definition of that term provided in this application applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Thus, there is still a need for improved kinematic measurement systems, methods, and apparatuses.
The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided in this application is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.